Food : "28 Dishes in 28 Days" : The Results

I've been on a cooking journey over the past 18 months.

I began by doing some part-time cookery courses at a local college and last November & this February I challenged myself to cooking a month's worth of new dishes....

30 and 28 dishes respectively.

Above are some of the dishes that I cooked last month.

peanut butter chocolate chip salted shortbread cookies....

so easy to make & so tasty - you make it as a roll, slice it into cookies & bake

It's quite the challenge organising yourself to cook a new dish every single day, but actually, this month I enjoyed the challenge even more than last time.

I've explored cookery books that have been sitting happily neglected on my shelves for some time, I've bought ingredients for the very first time....

and I found so many really great dishes.

Our vegetable intake greatly increased thanks to lots of soups....

and I now have a store cupboard full of herbs, spices & other basics ready for the next dish.

Boeuf bourguignon....something I'd always wanted to attempt.

this cooked for several hours, it was a Mary Berry recipe & was absolutely delicious

What I have discovered though, best of all, is a real love of cooking, a genuine feel for ingredients and putting dishes together.

I followed recipes for all the dishes but I began to develop an understanding of how certain spices & herbs compliment other ingredients and bring out different tastes.

I've spent several Sundays cooking 5 or 6 dishes for a huge family Sunday evening supper and it gave me such pleasure to see everyone really enjoying each mouthful.

Spending most of the day in the kitchen, listening to the radio with pots & pans everywhere was blissful - something I never thought I'd say!

I feel like a cook and I love it, 

I've never been confident in my cooking skills so this feels like a real achievement.

 I was joined by my friends Lori, Ziz and Jae & fellow blogger Mikal which was fantastic....

we talked & compared dishes & encouraged each other throughout the month.

We all completed 28 dishes.

Yorkshire puddings....I have always thought these would be really tricky but these were perfect first try 

I'd totally recommend giving the challenge a try, 

the only rule is that the dishes you cook must be totally new to you, 

it's a great way to get out of a cooking rut and get creative in the kitchen.

The dishes that I cooked during February are below....

the weather is still cold in London so I made a lot of stews and soups.

I particularly enjoyed using the Jamie Oliver "Ministry of Food" & "Jamie's Italy" cookbooks....

although I used recipes from many different sources - cooks/books/the internet. 

Ina Garten's Autumn Minestrone
Penne with prawns, cream & tomato

Mushroom lasagne

Bobba's Babka

Chicken Korma

Baked Spiced Custard

Prawn & Sweetcorn Chowder

Banofee Blondies

Pan Fried Chips

Chilli con Carne

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Salted Shortbread Cookies

Milk, honey & cinnamon ice cream

Chicken Curry

Lamb Hotpot

Lauren's Meatballs

Chocolate Profiteroles

Yorkshire Puddings

Roast Potatoes

Boeuf Bourguignon

Lemon Meringue Pie

Jamie Oliver's Favourite Ribollita

Roasted Pepper & Potato Soup

Vegetable Jalfrezi

Vegetable Bhajis

Mixed Bean Bake

Country Vegetable Pie

Sausage Cassoulet

On the subject - and with Easter fast approaching - this "creme egg mojito" caught my eye.....
exclusive at Jewel Piccadilly.
For more information, click here  at Late Night London.